• Glad I’m old • Sum of all parts • For the greater good • No more friendly skies Glad I’m old I sincerely hope that those of us who were scared of a Barack Obama presidency were wrong. I
• Glad I’m old
• Sum of all parts
• For the greater good
• No more friendly skies
Glad I’m old
I sincerely hope that those of us who were scared of a Barack Obama presidency were wrong. I hope that he is able to do what all of those young people who voted for him are correct in their analysis of what he will do to improve the United States of America.
However, I am glad that I am old, yes, old. ‘Cause I am afraid of what is coming to the U.S.
Some may say, “But what about the young people, our children?” Well, guess what? They have made their bed and they will have to sleep in it.
• Gordon Smith, Kapa‘a
Sum of all parts
When John McCain mentioned Barack Obama’s name to his supporters at his concession speech, they booed. That was what was expected of them.
When Obama mentioned McCain’s name to his supporters at his victory speech, they clapped and even cheered. That was what was expected of them.
That about sums it up.
• Cathy Granholm, Princeville
For the greater good
We have come a long way as the polls indicate. We have many challenges ahead of us. We have to look at the footprint we are leaving on our home planet. For one thing, we get all of our vegetables and meats via shipping. One solution to this would be warehouses with hydroponically grown vegetables. This would put truckers out of business, but increase jobs for farmworkers. Proving there is a give-and-take for all workers. This would be a boon for educational institutions.
One thing you can do as a community is reach out to that voter who voted for John McCain, tell them that they are an important part of the solution, the way forward. We need to encourage all Americans to work together and work for solutions to our current dilemma.
As Obama has previously stated, the road won’t be easy as we move this country forward.
It will take sacrifice from every class, lower, middle, and upper, to assert the leading position in the world. America has, since World War II, been an established leader in the world economy. Heck, when our economy is in the dumps so is everybody else’s.
What we really need to do is get rid of “air sellers,” the system of middle men that contribute nothing to the world product other than buying and selling. They’ve done little to add to the quality of the product. It’s a latch-on system of wage earners that has done little to make the world a better place.
Since the collapse of Wall Street, many of their employees have had to seek different forms of employment; I wish them well.
Now they are free to seek forms of employment that will drive them to gratification. They will be able to serve humanity, rather than profiting from it.
There are so many divisions in the world not working for humanity’s better interest. All of these valuable educations could be working for a better outcome — to perpetuate humanity, not spend its last values. It’s so important to encompass all the human values, food supply, clean water, and freedom from disease; we need to work together to fill in these gaps that are currently governed by the economy which has failed to yield good results.
The war on drugs has been a miserable failure that has sapped resources, and has produced little compared to the manpower it has consumed. To say nothing of the border incursions and trouble it has created in Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. Add value to the commodity, and it will become a problem.
I would also like to speak to the honesty of the American government. The number one issue to Americans today is accountability. It will always be the number one issue. When you are not forthcoming on the issues of UFOs, the war in Iraq, the deficit, or whatever, people won’t believe you. They start their own belief system which further divides us. It’s so important to perpetuate truth as the governing factor. It will unite America and the world.
I would conclude this message with a final call for all Obama supporters to encourage all citizens, including McCain supporters, to come to the aid of the party (Americans) and work for the greater good of the world.
• Bob Keller, Waimea
No more friendly skies
Our economy is being battered from all sides. As if the increased cost of living, foreclosures, tight credit were not enough to cripple the tourist industry, I just received a notice from United Airlines about their Mileage Plus Awards.
United is the largest carrier in the Hawai‘i market. Many of our visitors use mileage awards to visit the islands. The current redemption rate for flights between Mainland destinations is 25,000 miles. Flights between Hawai‘i and the Mainland require 35,000 miles — a reasonable increase.
As of Jan. 1, 2009, the Mainland rates remain the same (25,000 miles) while the rates between Hawai‘i and the Mainland double to 70,000 miles — almost three times as much as travel on the Mainland. A vacationer could take three vacation trips to Orlando, Phoenix, Los Angeles for a mere 5,000 extra miles. And this notice came after oil prices have fallen by half from their peak.
Just one more nail in our economic coffin. Perhaps we should allot more landing slots to friendlier airlines. For Hawai‘i, United can no longer be called the “friendly skies.”
• Stan Godes, Hanalei
